Water Law

Water is one of the most important issues in the West, and is the subject of many complicated laws. If you’re trying to understand Colorado’s water laws, here are some good places to start:

• Vranesh’s Colorado Water Law. This chunky book is usually considered the resource on water law in Colorado. But, if you’re looking for something a little easier to digest, try
• Synopsis of Colorado Water Law. This little booklet is designed for the lay person to understand Colorado’s complicated water laws.
• If you’re involved in a legal issue concerning water, see Non-Attorney’s Guidebook to Colorado Water Courts, published by the Colorado Supreme Court.
• CSU has produced a Glossary of Water Terminology as well as Colorado Citizens’ Water Law Handbook and Water Quality and Water Rights in Colorado.
• Check out the richly illustrated Citizen’s Guide to Colorado Water Law, produced by the Colorado Foundation for Water Education, available for checkout from our library.
• Also, the Natural Resources Law Center of the CU-Boulder Law School has issued a number of publications relating to water law, including Groundwater Law Sourcebook of the Western United States; Negotiating High Stakes Water Conflicts; Water and the American West; Controlling Water Use; The Connection Between Water Quality and Water Quantity; Emerging Forces in Western Water Law; Values and Western Water; Water and the Cities of the Southwest; Water Rights Decisions in the Western States; and Water and Growth in Colorado: A Review of Legal and Policy Issues.